Belchertown Man Convicted of Fraud and Firearms Charges

BOSTON — A Belchertown man was convicted today in U.S. District Court in Springfield of conspiracy, mail fraud and possessing a firearm.

John Sacco, 64, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor to conspiracy, mail fraud and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Sentencing is scheduled for September 16, 2013.

From August 2008 to December 2009, Sacco and others ran a national advance fee scheme that defrauded approximately 130 victims of over $800,000. Sacco placed advertisements in national newspapers promising would be investors that they could make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year by working with Sacco’s company, SAC Financial Corp, as brokers of business loans to individuals with poor credit. The individuals who responded to the advertisements were subjected to high pressure sales tactics and false references which convinced them to send Sacco an up–front fee of between $3,500 and $6,900. Thereafter, Sacco strung the victims along through a fictitious loan brokerage process which resulted in no actual loans being made.

Sacco also pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. In 2001, he was convicted in federal court of defrauding Monson Savings Bank of $236,000. As a convicted felon, Sacco was prohibited from possessing a firearm. On Nov. 1, 2010, a 12–gauge shotgun and 16 shotgun shells were seized from Sacco’s bedroom during the execution of a court ordered search warrant for Sacco’s residence.

On the charge of conspiracy, the statutory maximum penalty is five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine; on the charge of mail fraud, the statutory maximum penalty is 20 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine; on the charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm, the statutory maximum penalty is 10 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Eugenio A. Marquez, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin O’Regan of Ortiz’s Springfield Office.

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Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives United States Department of Justice